BBQ cleaning tips and tricks

[Alacrity59]

Well I did some serious cleaning of my BBQ this afternoon. Scraping disassembling . . . using paper clips to clean the holes in the burner . . . scrubbed grills.

Spraying oven cleaner on the grills and putting them in a dark garbage bag and leave in the sun for a few hours works well for me.

Between doing this major clean . . . any bit of old aluminum foil crinkled up does a good job cleaning the grill.

Anybody else have a tip they would like to pass on?

 

[mankini]

That sounds like one heck of a job you did, I bet your next meal cooked on it will taste delicious.

I do not own a high end grill but with replacement parts costing what they do I try to keep it clean by ensuring to brush the grates before and after each use with a stainless brush.

 

[tsmba]

I use a long-handled brass brush. I always pre-heat my grill (which burns off a good deal of stuff), then scrub and lube. I like to clean as I go to (hopefully) free myself of the drudgery of cleaning a very dirty grill. A grill brick also works well.

 

[johsa]

I use a long-handled brass brush. I always pre-heat my grill (which burns off a good deal of stuff), then scrub and lube. I like to clean as I go to (hopefully) free myself of the drudgery of cleaning a very dirty grill. A grill brick also works well.

Works perfect for me as well. The key is to heat to grill before you scrub it.

 

[cityjim]

That sounds like one heck of a job you did, I bet your next meal cooked on it will taste delicious.

I do not own a high end grill but with replacement parts costing what they do I try to keep it clean by ensuring to brush the grates before and after each use with a stainless brush.

Sorry but IMO a dirty grill tastes better . I like all that grunge on mine . I call that gunk you scrape off flavor .

Remember when you grill was new ? Initial cooked food tasted like chemicals ? Until you threw some grease around and slung several stakes out of it . Same thing happens when the wife cleans the oven . Whatever comes out the first time is radioactive I swear . Always has an after taste of caustic soda .


cityjim

 

[Fnord5]

Sorry but IMO a dirty grill tastes better . I like all that grunge on mine . I call that gunk you scrape off flavor .

Remember when you grill was new ? Initial cooked food tasted like chemicals ? Until you threw some grease around and slung several stakes out of it . Same thing happens when the wife cleans the oven . Whatever comes out the first time is radioactive I swear . Always has an after taste of caustic soda .


cityjim

Sound's like it was a gas grill.

No flavor in those anyways

My only grill is a little New Braunfels portable one, my "cleaning" of it is basically pulling the ashes out of the bottom(I line it with foil to make it easy) and to use a paint scraper to remove any drippings that have fused to the grill body.

For the grate, all I do is pre-heat, and use a coiled metal sponge to scrub the grate. I also do the same about 15 minutes after removing the food.
It removes solids, but leaves the grease and oil on the bars of the grate, and it is now pretty much non-stick.

 

[Pirate-M.Lifnen]

I think you're just tasting the chemicals used to clean it, if chemicals were used to clean the over, make sure they're cleaned off...

A dirty oven is b.a.d.

Don't believe me? Take Alton Brown's word for it.

 

[ouch]

Every year or so, it gets the power washer treatment.

 

[danek]

I throw the grates in the oven and run it through the self-clean cycle. That turns all concreted (made-up word) on junk into ash. A quick wipe down and they're good to go.

 

[radiomantodd]

If your grill grates are the thin kind that appear to be plated or ceramic coated, then you probably wanna keep those as clean as possible. Me? I've got big thick cast iron grills that just need a simple preheat and scrape. Like a good cast iron pan, or dutch oven, the grills become seasoned, and by thorougly cleaning them, you lose some of the flavor that the grill itself can impart on your food.

 

[The Nid Hog]

I throw the grates in the oven and run it through the self-clean cycle. That turns all concreted (made-up word) on junk into ash. A quick wipe down and they're good to go.

This is my clean-up of last resort too.

 

[Topgumby]

Got the Weber Stainless steel grate for my kettle, and about the only cleaning it gets is with a stainless circular brush on a 1/4" shank arbor chucked into a cordless drill.

I'm a lazy bum.

 

[RazorDingo]

Given that most barbecue grills live outdoors, their lifetime is almost always going to be measured in years - rather than decades.

Count me among those who prefer cooking on a clean grill. Gas or charcoal, I really don't want to be scraping my steaks and burgers off a surface encrusted with weeks old grease. The grill should be clean - if not to say absolutely sparkling.

One of the best tips I've learned for keeping the grill nice - to say nothing of preventing burgers and other meat from "sticking" is to a) wait for the grill to get up to temperature and b) use tongs to wipe a paper towel soaked in olive oil, etc. on the grill where you are going to place the meat.

For general post-cooking cleaning, I prefer using a brass brush or scrubbing pad. The soft brass will not scratch and abrade the grill surface the way steel wool or other scrubbing pads will.

Depending on how often you use your grill, the "briquets" in the bottom of most gas grills need to be replaced every few years. The constant heat/cool cycles eventually breaks them down. If its been a few years and your briquets are looking more like a pile of gravel - treat yourself to some new ones.

The outside of the grill needs to attention too. Strangely, I have found that grills that have a semi-permanent cover on them seem to deteriorate faster than those left uncovered. I suspect that the cover traps dirt and moisture next to the enamel, and gradually wears it away. I'll hit the enamel exterior with a bucket of warm sudsy water a couple of times each grill season to keep the outside nice and shiny. I also use this time to tighten up any fasteners that come loose.

The inside of the grill is best attacked with a stack of paper towels, warm sudsy water. Do this job on the grass, or some other area that you don't mind getting soaked with filthy, greasy water. You'll probably never get the inside back to "new" condition - but it definitely looks better.

You may be able to extend the life of the gas burners with periodic cleaning, scrubbing, and hole-poking. In many cases you can buy replacement elements for a fairly reasonable cost, especially relative to buying a whole new grill.

 

[DaveAri]

Got this tip from a friend a few years ago. When you’re done cooking, cover the grill will heavy duty aluminum foil (shinny side down) you might need to place a few rocks on the foil to hold it down. Then close the grill and turn the burners all the way up. Leave covered and closed for about 15 minutes. When done take off the foil and use a steel brush. The heating burns almost everything off. Just like a self cleaning oven.

 

[Monkeydad]

I throw the grates in the oven and run it through the self-clean cycle. That turns all concreted (made-up word) on junk into ash. A quick wipe down and they're good to go.

Great idea that I wish I had thought of!


It does seem that a "dirty" grill can make food taste better (yes, I cook with gas unless at a park).

I just cleaned mine over the weekend with oven cleaner, a wire grill brush with a blade on the backside and a hose. I always let it cook empty for a while after cleaning it to make sure I burn off any leftover cleaner residue.


I only cleaned it because it started flaming up a little, probably from some marinades I had used with EVOO.

 

[Bayamontate]

Powerwasher.

 

[Alacrity59]

I throw the grates in the oven and run it through the self-clean cycle. That turns all concreted (made-up word) on junk into ash. A quick wipe down and they're good to go.

This is a great idea that I certainly would not have thought of. Where we live now we don't have a self cleaning oven but it is a great suggestion for those who do.

 

[Alacrity59]

Given that most barbecue grills live outdoors, their lifetime is almost always going to be measured in years - rather than decades.

Count me among those who prefer cooking on a clean grill. Gas or charcoal, I really don't want to be scraping my steaks and burgers off a surface encrusted with weeks old grease. The grill should be clean - if not to say absolutely sparkling.
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You may be able to extend the life of the gas burners with periodic cleaning, scrubbing, and hole-poking. In many cases you can buy replacement elements for a fairly reasonable cost, especially relative to buying a whole new grill.

This was an excellent collection of tips.

About five years ago I decided that my BBQs , despite fairly good maintenance, were wearing out too fast. At that point I thought I'd try a different route and with my tax return money I purchased something a little higher end that has a burner made of 16 gauge stainless steel and cooking grids that are made of what appears to me to be 3/8" or 6/16" ceramic covered steel. It looks and works like new. I'm told these Napoleon BBQs will last a good long time. . . so far it is working out for me. If I were going to do this again I'd go for the stainless steel grids rather than the ceramic . . . but I am actually impressed how long the ceramic is lasting but I'd like to be able to use a grill stone for cleanup.

My grill is a 450 which is one of the smaller ones that Napoleon offers. One of the nice things about it is that I have a charcoal basket that sits under the grids where one of the sear plates go . . . use the gas to light the charcoal and I've got a perfect place to cook a nice steak . . .

Like wet shaving though what looks to be cost saving can end up a bit of a hobby and cost more rather than less but money isn't everything.

 

[redbike]

Bicycle degreaser works very well for cleaning greasy exterior parts. I use Pedro's, which is citrus based and works quite well.